Per Illinois School Board of Education (ISBE) regulations, children must be five years old by September 1st to enter kindergarten. The law also provides for early entrance into kindergarten based on an assessment of a child's readiness to attend school. EMSD 37's standards for entrance are very high to ensure that students are not frustrated by their advanced grade placement now and in the future. In addition to above average academic skills, we will also consider other information that we collect on each child: socio-emotional development, social skills, physical development, and processing in the areas of cognition, language processing, and visual-motor integration.

Applications for early entrance to kindergarten for the upcoming school year are accepted from March 1 through May 1.

Families must be residents of East Moline School District 37 to apply. Please access the district boundaries map to see if you reside in East Moline School District 37. Parents/Guardians who wish to apply for early entrance must complete the Application for Early Entrance - Kindergarten. The link to the application is below. You may also pick up a paper form by stopping the the EMSD 37 District Administration Building at 3451 Morton Drive, East Moline, IL. Filling out the paperwork is the first step in the process. Once you have submitted your application, someone will reach out to you to set up a time for you and your child to come to the district office for testing. A district school psychologist will be interviewing your child and administering various tests. The fee for the testing is $150. If you need financial assistance, please indicate this when you turn in the application.

If you have any questions about the criteria for early entrance or the process, please contact Kelly Ronnebeck, Associate Superintendent for Student Achievement - phone: (309) 792-2887 ext. 6 or email:[email protected].

Application for EMSD 37 Early Entrance to Kindergarten